Media Advisory: Newest Fast Response Cutter to arrive in Boston
Editors note: Media interested in attending the ship’s arrival are requested to RSVP with d1publicaffairs@uscg.mil no later than 4 p.m. Thursday.
BOSTON — Coast Guard Cutter Warren Deyampert (WPC-1151) is scheduled to arrive Friday following a transit from Key West. The newly-built Warren Deyampert was accepted by the Coast Guard on Dec. 23, 2022, and will be one of six new Fast Response Cutters homeported in Boston.
The cutter's arrival will include a water salute from the Boston Fire Department and air escort by an Air Station Cape Cod, Mass., MH-60 Jayhawk crew. Crew families, and Coast Guard personnel will be providing a pier side welcoming party for their arrival.
WHO: Chief Warrant Officer Lance DeFoggi, commanding officer of the Warren Deyampert, along with the ship’s crew
WHAT: Arrival of USCGC Warren Deyampert to Boston
WHEN: Friday, Feb. 17, at 10 a.m. Media are requested to arrive by 9:30 to clear security and be escorted to the pier
WHERE: Coast Guard Base Boston, 427 Commercial St., Boston, MA 02109
The Sentinel-class fast response cutter (FRC) is designed for multiple missions, including drug and migrant interdiction; ports, waterways and coastal security; fishery patrols; search and rescue; and national defense. The Coast Guard has ordered 65 FRCs to replace the 1980s-era Island-class 110-foot patrol boats. The FRCs feature advanced command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance equipment; over the horizon cutter boat deployment to reach vessels of interest; and improved habitability and seakeeping.
The ship’s commissioning ceremony will be held March 30, at Base Boston.
Born in Alabama, the cutter’s namesake joined the Coast Guard, and served aboard the USCGC Escanaba, beginning in August, 1941. Although his time of enlistment was limited to serving in a food service rating, Deyampert also served as one of the cutter’s three rescue swimmers.
Following a torpedo attack on the U.S. Army transport ship Dorchester on Feb. 3, 1943, Deyampert swam in absolute darkness to rescue survivors in the freezing waters of the North Atlantic. His efforts directly affected the rescue of 100 crewmembers, many of whom were hypothermic and unable to swim.
On June 13, 1943, the Escanaba sank, following an explosion onboard that was believed to be from a torpedo attack. All but two crewmembers were killed in the explosion. Deyampert was posthumously awarded the Navy & Marine Corps Medal and Purple Heart Medal for his heroic rescue of the Dorchester crew.